Aimee Smith: A Blue Collar Worker
4/22/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
April 22, 2004
Aimee Smith has experienced the heights and depths of NCAA tennis. The senior from Norcross, Ga., is wrapping up her collegiate career at Wake Forest in much the same style in which she began. Perhaps it is clich? to call her a "blue-collar worker," but it's a dead-on description according to Brian Fleishman, Wake Forest's women's tennis coach. Smith, who has played most of her career as a No. 5 or No. 6 singles player and as a mainstay in doubles, has earned every victory and every lesson though hard work, feisty play and a stainless steel will to win.
"When she came into (the program) we were top 5 in the country, and she was going to have to fight for every bit of playing time she could get, and that was what she did," Fleishman said. "She is a blue-collar worker. You've got to have those kinds of players. You can't have a team full of all-stars - it just doesn't work out. So you need those blue- collar workers who come and work day in and day out and go home and then come back the next day ready to do it again."
Smith was part of a Wake team that advanced to the Sweet 16 in 2000-2001 as a freshman. If fact, her victory over Ashleigh Dolman of Oklahoma State clinched the victory that sent Wake Forest to the round of 16 that season. As a sophomore, she was a regular in the lineup of a team that was ranked as high as second nationally and advanced to the NCAA Championships. Smith knew success early. But last season the Wake Forest women's tennis program won just four matches and finished eighth in the ACC. The record was largely circumstantial with the team having no seniors and players playing out of position most every match. The results, however, were that it made the team tougher. Smith's consistent drive and determination, and her role as team captain, helped the Deacons prepare to rise again this year. The Deacons entered the ACC Championships 11-10 overall and 3-5 in the league, a substantial improvement from a year ago.
"None of us were used to that many losses, but we knew we were going to struggle, so we took that as a growing year and learned from each of our losses," Smith said. "Toward the end of the last season we learned how to win and took that into this season. We know how to win and what it's like to be on top, but coming back and (possibly) being able to play in the NCAAs my senior year is very exciting."
"Last year she was elected captain," Fleishman said. "I put her in that position, and she did a good job last year. The thing about Aimee is she wants to win, she wants to play perfect tennis all the time, and that kind of person is demanding. They want everybody else to follow the lead. So that was a good role for her. This year I delegated that (captain) to two other players, but as one of two seniors she's been kind of a leader by example by going out there and working hard each day.
"Last year in general made everybody tougher. Now the girls really have trouble playing someone lesser than them. Aimee prefers to play someone who hits the ball hard. She doesn't want to play a pusher. She rises to the occasion and usually plays her best tennis when she has to play somebody better. She's feisty out there as well. She doesn't care if she's playing someone who is six-foot tall as opposed to four-foot five. She's going to go out there and lay it on the line."
Smith has also been able to share her academic and tennis successes with her boyfriend. For more than two years Smith has been dating Mark Moroz, an offensive tackle on the Wake Forest football team. Moroz completed his degree in December and is awaiting the NFL Draft to help him determine his football future. With both being student-athletes, they have been able to celebrate big victories, empathize tough defeats and better understand the incredible time-management required to succeed at Wake Forest. Naturally, Smith was in the stands at Groves Stadium for football games last fall, and Moroz is a faithful fan at Leighton Stadium and the Indoor Tennis Center.
"It's really been a great experience being able to watch him on the field, knowing what he is going through mentally and also him knowing what I'm going through on the court," Smith said. "He knows how to handle me off the court after a tough match or after a win. It's been nice to have that support. I have a lot of respect for what he does, and I know what he's been through practice-wise day in and day out."
Although both Smith and Moroz are athletes, neither knew the intricacies of the other's sport until they began to get to know each other. Throughout that process they both quickly learned that it was harder to be the fan than it was to be the athlete. Moroz, who hails from Welland, Ontario, also indicated it has been nice to have the support of Smith and her parents (Bill and Carol Smith) with his family so far away.
"I think she knew a lot about football, but she didn't know what an offensive lineman does," Moroz said. "Basically, I told her when the quarterback gets hit it's the offensive lineman's fault for not protecting him. If the running back doesn't get past the line of scrimmage usually the offensive line didn't do the job. At the same time, when something good happens you won't notice we did anything.
"I think for both of us it's probably harder to watch the other person play. Going to watch her play was the first time I'd ever went to a tennis match. I really didn't know much about it, with the scoring. I was like they get 15 points for one shot? I didn't understand it at all. Her parents pretty much helped me with that. I didn't realize how much strategy was involved, and I appreciate the game more now."
At the end of the regular season, Smith had worked her way to the second best singles record on the team at 23-12. She will leave Wake Forest the second player ever to earn 100 career doubles victories, chiseling her own name into the Wake Forest record books.
Smith entered the ACC Tournament winning four of her final six singles matches and feeling better about her game. She wants to lead the 31st-ranked Wake Forest team into the NCAA Tournament, a feat still possible even with an 11-10 overall mark because of the strength of the ACC. The blue-collar worker is a kid who has been around the block and wants to stroll the post-season sidewalk one more time.
"Most recently I've gained more and more confidence, and I know this is my final time to shine on the tennis court," Smith said. "I'm just playing and having fun with it."